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Tuesday, May 17, 2016

SpaceX lands successfully and makes history

Sam Lombardi
Staf Writer

Elon Musk and SpaceX once again shocked everyone with a feat that is arguably one of the most important events in the last century. After launching its Falcon 9 rocket and delivering cargo to the International Space Station, they once again attempted to land the rocket on a barge on April 8. However, this time it finally worked after a number of failures.
This success will revolutionize spaceflight and greatly increase the amount of opportunities for SpaceX. Being able to successfully land a first stage rocket on a floating barge will open up new doors and allow rockets to be reused, saving millions of dollars that would otherwise be spent replacing every rocket launched. SpaceX has plans to attempt the same landing with the same rocket, which would help to prove two things: the landing can be repeated consistently and the rocket can be reused efficiently and effectively.
Elon Musk is looking to make these landings so reliable and routine that the price of a launch could be reduced by one hundredfold. Those tracking the accomplishments of SpaceX should expect another launch as soon as May or June, and maybe even a successful landing.